Values and Ethos
The Hillside Way
Our core values are summarised in The Hillside Way.
For pupils this is:
The nine features of The Hillside Way are split up into two parts Standards & Expectations and Character Virtues.
Standards and Expectations
• Essential 8
• Arrive on time, all the time
• Work Hard
• Participate in Lessons
• Excellent Manners
• Best presentation of yourself and your work
To be an effective learner at Hillside, you need to meet these six Standards and Expectations in every lesson. You will be monitored each lesson to show how well you are meeting these standards.
Character Virtues:
The following three aspects of The Hillside Way are what we believe are the key virtues that will help you in your own personal development to grow into confident, successful individuals. A virtue is a type of behaviour which people agree is morally right. Someone who is virtuous leads a good, moral life.
Resilience
This virtue is about being able to cope when things get tough. Resilient people are good at dealing with change and are able to use their skills to recover from problems and challenges. This could be within a lesson such as having the strength to tackle challenging work but it could also be problems in people’s personal lives.
Kindness
This virtue is all about being caring and approaching people you meet with respect, appreciation and interest. People who regularly demonstrate kindness are happier than those who don’t and studies have shown that kindness also stimulates the production of serotonin which is the feel-good chemical. The kindness virtue is also about how we can benefit our communities through our actions and taking part in events and activities in and around school for charity.
Positivity
The positivity virtue gives us a reason to believe in ourselves. Positive people are less isolated because others want to be around them. People who are positive are optimistic in life meaning they expect good things to happen. Positive attitudes cause positive thoughts and outcomes and produce positive results.
STEPS
STAR
During a lesson, when your teacher needs everyone to refocus or pay attention, possibly after a whole class or group discussion task, your teacher (the speaker) will use the STAR strategy. This can also be used by your teacher when a pupil is contributing to a discussion, to ensure everyone is giving their full respect and attention to the speaker. It ensures you are concentrating on what you should be focusing on rather than being distracted by other things that may be going on around you.
When using STAR, your teacher my say
“OK, let’s see you all demonstrating STAR”
“I expect STAR”
“I know you will impress me demonstrating STAR”.
